There is nothing wrong with opposing injustice, but who are these protesters taking it out on? The people who were supposed to be receiving a great honor by running with the torch. I personally don't really care, or pay attention to the torch relay stuff myself.. But I can still respect it for what it is, what it means to some people, and what it stands for in general. This is a big deal for most of these people, and will likely be a once in-a-lifetime opportunity that has been well-respected among the majority of civilized societies for 60 years.

These protesters may have valid concerns when it comes to Tibet, but in the interest of "getting their message out", they are subjecting innocent and completely unrelated people to the brunt of their dissent to make their point?

In my opinion it's a great example of the veritable empire of pretentious 'activists' today that desperately want to believe that they "stand for something" and have a "cause", but don't actually have the sense to see that they are being counter-productive in their measures to make their opinion's heard.

Thoughts?

Last edited by abnerman on Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese....

I think it is much more a protest of the entire idea of China hosting the games and therefor you'll see everything Olympics related being protested. It is also much more than Tibet.

On the flip side, it's going to be much harder for China to make a lot of foreigners "disappear" when they start telling people what is really going on. It is also already forcing China to open up their Internet a little. Who knows what it might do in the future...

I still maintain we have much more influence over people we interact with and therefor are much more likely to assist in implementing change.

Kerry Tobin wrote:I still maintain we have much more influence over people we interact with and therefor are much more likely to assist in implementing change.

But how much productive change is realistically implemented by protesters in San Francisco unpleasantly "interacting" with other people in San Francisco, for example?

On the flip side, it's going to be much harder for China to make a lot of foreigners "disappear" when they start telling people what is really going on. It is also already forcing China to open up their Internet a little. Who knows what it might do in the future...

The Torch Relay protesting is forcing them to open up their internet?I was under the impression that China was asked (and agreed) to suspend their internet cencorship by the International Olympic Committee, to allow the worldwide media and press to function without restriction.

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese....

Those were kind of separate thoughts from the protest things. I've heard people say we should just cut talks with countries like China and I think that is a really bad idea.

I also was pointing out that a lot of people don't think China should be allowed to even host the games but the fact that they are is forcing them to open up (not related to the protesters, more pointing out that some of what the protesters want might happen BECAUSE they are hosting the games).

Those were kind of separate thoughts from the protest things. I've heard people say we should just cut talks with countries like China and I think that is a really bad idea.

I also was pointing out that a lot of people don't think China should be allowed to even host the games but the fact that they are is forcing them to open up (not related to the protesters, more pointing out that some of what the protesters want might happen BECAUSE they are hosting the games).

Sorry, I thought your comments were regarding the protests themselves..

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese....

Chinese-Americans Protesting CNN and calling for Jack Cafferty to be fired, because he called the Chinese government "goons and thugs".

Chinese Americans line Sunset Boulevard outside the network's offices to call for the commentator's dismissal.

More than 1,000 ethnic Chinese protesters gathered along Sunset Blvd near N Cahuenga Blvd shouting "Liar" in front of CNN's Los Angeles office, demanding a "sincere apology" from political commentator Jack Cafferty for calling the Chinese government "goons and thugs" on the air last week.

By David Pierson | Los Angeles Times Staff Writer April 20, 2008

Throngs of Chinese Americans protested outside CNN's offices in Hollywood on Saturday morning, calling for the dismissal of commentator Jack Cafferty, whose recent remarks about Chinese goods and China inflamed a community already angry about international condemnations directed at the host country of the upcoming Olympic Games.

The protesters lined Sunset Boulevard from Cahuenga Boulevard to Wilcox Avenue chanting "Fire Cafferty" and "CNN liar" and singing the Chinese national anthem and other patriotic songs. They waved Chinese, American and Taiwanese flags and directed their anger at the news channel's dark glass tower.

"It's really unacceptable," said John He, an organizer of the event. "It maliciously attacks all Chinese. This would not be accepted if it was directed at any other ethnic group."On the April 9 airing of "The Situation Room," Cafferty said of America's relationship with China: "We continue to import their junk with the lead paint on them and the poisoned pet food and export . . . jobs to places where you can pay workers a dollar a month to turn out the stuff that we're buying from Wal-Mart. So I think our relationship with China has certainly changed. I think they're basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years."

"In this occasion Jack was offering his strongly held opinion of the Chinese government, not the Chinese people," a CNN spokesman said in a statement. "It should be noted that over many years, Jack Cafferty has expressed critical comments on many governments, including the U.S. government and its leaders."

The controversy has added fuel to a growing resentment toward the West. Many Chinese feel the West is unfairly ganging up on the country at a time when the world should be celebrating the Olympics.

Much of the blame is being directed at Western media, which the Chinese American community has accused of bias for failing to show the violence inflicted on non-Tibetans during the recent unrest in the western Chinese province and of being too critical of China.

The website http://www.anti-cnn.com was created last month, and CNN reported Friday that hackers had attempted to interrupt the network's website.

While the anger continues in overseas Chinese communities, the government in Beijing has attempted to control the anti-Western rhetoric online for fear of marring the experience of countless foreigners visiting for the summer games.

Saturday's protest was announced through mass e-mails and Chinese-language media.

Some of the protesters Saturday said Cafferty's words reflected a growing unease among Americans over China's growing global profile.

Lake Wang, a 39-year-old engineer from Thousand Oaks, was wearing a T-shirt that read, "Do not be jealous of China Jack." The last protest Wang attended was 19 years ago in Beijing -- the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Wang said China has become a vastly different society since then and that the country deserved credit for the changes.

Police estimated the crowd at 1,500, but organizers said there were 10,000 attendees. A similar protest took place at CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

"Most of these people are American citizens and legal resident aliens," said John Chen, a lead organizer. "We love China and we love America too. We should not be regarded as goons and thugs."

This is ridiculous.Cafferty was talking about the Chinese Government, not all Chinese people. The people that are protesting didn't even bother to process all the information before they decided that it 'offended' them.

This guy is a commentator who was giving his opinion, on a show where he was supposed to give his opinion. He thinks that China's government is a bunch of "thugs and goons", and that we import "junk" from them. Regardless of the fact that he is absolutely right in my eye, I think it's ridiculous to see yet another group of people calling for someone to get fired because they didn't like something he or she said.

We live in an imperfect world and individuals are going to think and say things that others don't agree with... But you know what? That's alright with me. I both accept and embrace the fact that the people of this country can speak their minds, even when I don't like it or when I don't particularly agree with it.

People should have the right to disagree, the right to their own uncensored opinion, and their own voice. They should have the right not to be cursed with the utterly impossible task of 'making everyone happy' with their personal opinions. People in America should have the luxury to be individuals.. and that's the very essence of why I still feel privileged to live in this country as opposed to somewhere like.. oh, say... China?

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese....

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A group of Chinese lawyers have sued CNN, saying remarks by commentator Jack Cafferty in which he called Chinese "goons" violated the dignity and reputation of the Chinese people, a Hong Kong newspaper said.

The Beijing-backed Wen Wei Po said the Beijing court had yet to accept the case, which comes amid a wave of criticism in China against Western news outlets in the wake of recent unrest in Tibet and disruptions to the Beijing Olympic torch relay abroad.

China's Foreign Ministry summoned CNN's Beijing bureau chief last week and demanded an apology after Cafferty said Chinese products were "junk," adding the remark: "They are basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years."

One of the 14 lawyers who launched the case told the newspaper Cafferty's remarks "seriously violated and abused the reputation and dignity of the plaintiffs as Chinese people, and caused serious spiritual and psychological injury to the plaintiffs."

The lawyers sought the restoration of the Chinese people's reputation through publications and in the media and asked for 100 yuan ($14.31) in damages, it said.

In response to the Foreign Ministry's initial demand for an apology, CNN said there was no intent to cause offence and that Cafferty was offering a "strongly held" opinion of the Chinese government, not the people.

The Foreign Ministry, however, said the response was unsatisfactory and aimed to drive a wedge between the government and the Chinese people.

Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

Apparently people choosing to purposely take his comment completely out of context, has caused upwards of $14 worth of mental anguish?...

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese....